The UFC arrived in Baku for the first time on Saturday night where a pair of lightweights stole the show.
The main event on June 21 saw Jamahal Hill face Khalil Rountree Jr in a fight where both men needed to bounce back into the win column.
While the night ended with a dominant performance from Rountree Jr, it was another fight on the main card that had fans sitting on the edge of their seats.
Nazim Sadykhov’s clash with Nikolas Motta may have only lasted two rounds but it was still an absolute war that will still be remembered by the end of 2025.
UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili got to watch the matchup up close and personal having made the walk alongside Sadykhov as part of his corner team.
Merab Dvalishvili speaks on Nazim Sadykhov’s win immediately after one of the best fights of 2025 so far
After a strong start to the fight from Nikolas Motta, who unleashed a remarkable combination of strikes to try and get his opponent out of there, Nazim Sadykhov started to turn the tables.
Motta began to wear some significant damage on his face before in the second round, Sadykhov closed the show with a beautiful right hook to earn his fourth win inside the Octagon.
Both men were so impressive and the fight was so entertaining that Dana White decided to give both men a performance bonus on top of the fight of the night honors, meaning that they both pocketed an extra $100,000.
In a video posted by the UFC shortly after the fight, Merab Dvalishvili reflected on his teammate’s wild victory, claiming that he had a “heart attack” when Sadykhov was hurt in the first round.
‘The Machine’ even suggested that Sadykhov could receive two bonuses for his performance, which is exactly what happened.
“Good energy and I was believing in Nazim. I was believing he was gonna win but the fight was amazing. I had a little bit [of] a heart attack, you know, in the fight but he got an amazing finish. I know his opponent too, I hope he’s okay and what a great night. Nazim made history. He got to fight in his country, in Azerbaijan, he got the finish in Azerbaijan and maybe he got two bonuses.”
UFC Baku didn’t feature too many highlights, especially in comparison to Sadykhov vs Motta
The UFC’s debut in Baku wasn’t a classic event by any means, even if it did feature some impressive performances and a great back-and-forth contest.
Myktybek Orolbai was the only fighter, aside from Nazim Sadykhov, that produced a finish on the 12-fight card but his weight issues ahead of June 21 ruled him out of the running for a post-fight bonus.
Both Khalil Rountree and Rafael Fiziev earned big wins with convincing performances, while Curtis Blaydes picked up a very close split decision win over Rizvan Kuniev.
With UFC 317 to look forward to next week, it’s safe to say that there won’t be too much fallout from Baku aside from the news that Jon Jones has retired.